US preparing for next round of talks with Taliban in Doha

KABUL (Pajhwok): The US special envoy to Afghanistan says the United States is preparing for the next round of talks with the Taliban in Doha and had consulted NATO representatives about recognition of Afghan caretaker government.

Tom West, the US special envoy for Afghanistan, began his trip to Asia and Europe on Monday. He is currently in Brussels and is scheduled to visit Pakistan, India and Russia in the next few days.

He said the US was preparing for the next round of talks with the Taliban in Doha. However, he did not provide further details on the regard.

West said he had briefed NATO member states on talks with the Taliban and had also consulted with NATO representatives on a strategy to recognize the current Afghan government.

He said his country was concerned about the increase in ISIS attacks in Afghanistan and that “the continued presence of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan” was a matter of grave concern.

“The Taliban have voiced very clearly and openly their desire to normalize relations with the international community, to see a resumption in aid, to see a return of the international diplomatic community to Kabul and to see sanctions relief,” he said.

“The United States can deliver none of these things on our own,” West concluded.

Afghanistan’s caretaker government has not yet commented on Tom West’s remarks, but has previously said that ISIS is not a serious threat and that it could be defeated. Government officials have denied the presence of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

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